Tools for Small Business Growth: Thumbtack Review

Maybe you have heard of Thumbtack, maybe not. Similar to Angie's List, Thumbtack does the work of SEO, Google Ads, and marketing local, reputable businesses for pretty much any kind of service you can conceive.

HOW IT WORKS

Customer A wants to find a painter for their house. They do a Google search for "find a painter near Minneapolis." Thumbtack does the marketing to get that lead to come to their provider network (YOU!). When they arrive to Thumbtack, the customer enters different criteria for what kind of job they have, when, where, etc. When you set up your Thumbtack profile, you choose what kind of work you want to do. When Customer A's request lines up with your own criteria, Thumbtack emails you that Customer A needs a painter. You can read through the request and decide if you want to submit a quote or pass. With Thumbtack, you pay only when you quote. Depending on your industry and the specific kind of job within your category, quotes costs around a few dollars to $10 per quote given. Thumbtack limits how many businesses can quote on each request, only 5. Even if you are a startup, you have a great chance to earn new business that aren't your family/friends and to grow.

OVERVIEW

Whether you have a brand new business or are looking to expand your established business to a new customer base, Thumbtack is a great option. With a couple hours of your time, you can create a professional looking profile page with links to your own website and social media. You have complete control over how many marketing dollars you want to put into Thumbtack, and you can increase or decrease your marketing however you see fit.

I found Thumbtack easy to use and navigate, and they give you little hints and tips all along the way to help you succeed. The average is giving 5-10 quotes before getting business (about 10 for me), but every time you are hired, Thumbtack shows that. When you start out, have previous customers fill out a brief review (profiles with 5 reviews or more are 4 times more likely to get hired!). The automated review reminders are sent out to customers to pile up those reviews.

Best of all, the people requesting quotes are hot leads. You're not cold-calling people here. These people want to give you business.